LOW VISION
A Growing Crisis
Surprising numbers that underscore the impact low vision is having on patients—and practices
3 million
More than 3 million Americans have low vision, according to the American
Optometric Association. That’s projected to increase to almost 9 million by 2050.
more than 6 million Americans suffer from uncorrectable vision impairment. “Unfortunately,” says Richard Shuldiner, O.D., founder of The International Academy of Low Vision Specialists, “low vision care remains the most neglected service in optical.”
Solutions-based research is key, adds Laura Walker, Ph.D., executive director at Envision Research Institute (ERI) in Wichita, KS. “There can be a gap between researchers and connections to the problems people need solved,” she says. “Groups like ERI give scientists access to those front-line questions.” To show how critical those questions are, here are six stats that underscore the need for increased low vision care and research.
25%
Vision impairment due to refractive error is almost always correctable, according to Vision Impact Institute (VII). In fact, reports VII, “25% of legal blindness could be corrected.”
20%
Only 20% of vision-impaired adults use devices that could help with daily living activities, reports The Vision Council. This represents a huge opportunity—and responsibility.
63% + 37%
The National Eye Institute says 63% of reported low vision patients in the U.S. are women, and 37% are men.
2050
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses that early-onset advanced macular degeneration (AMD) cases (from age 50) will double from 2011 to 2050.
61 million
An incredible 61 million adults are at high risk for serious vision loss, according to a recent report on CBS, yet only half saw an eye doctor in the previous 12-month period.
65 +
According to the CDC, “Cases of diabetic retinopathy among people 65 or older will quadruple from 2010 to 2050.”
—Grace Hewlett
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